Vice President Pence visits Charlotte for RNC 2020 kickoff event

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (McClatchy) - Vice President Mike Pence will attend the 2020 Republican National Convention kickoff in Charlotte on Wednesday as part of a day-long trip to the state that includes stops in Monroe and Greensboro.

Wednesday, Pence will also visit Parkdale Mills, a textile company that bills itself as “the world leader in yarn manufacturing.” Pence will tour the facility and speak to employees with a focus on the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement, according to a White House official.

The USMCA was negotiated by the Trump administration as a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The new trade deal has not yet passed Congress.

In the evening, Pence will headline a Trump Victory fundraiser in Greensboro. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who is facing re-election and a GOP primary challenger in 2020, will also be at the event. So, too, will Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.

North Carolina is expected to be a battleground state in 2020. Democrat Barack Obama won the state and the presidency in 2008, then lost North Carolina to Mitt Romney in 2012 while winning a second term. In 2016, Trump carried the state with 49.8 percent of the vote to 46.2 percent for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. The state has 15 electoral votes.